Simon Pegg, Doug Jung to co-write 'Star Trek 3'

"Star Trek 3" didn't have to voyage to strange new worlds to find its writers. Simon Pegg, the English actor who plays Scotty in the rebooted sci-fi franchise, has been enlisted to co-write the script for the third installment with Doug Jung, The Times has confirmed.

Deadline Hollywood first reported the news about Pegg and Jung. It comes on the heels of Justin Lin stepping in to direct the Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions threequel after Robert Orci departed the project in December.

In addition to his acting work, Pegg is a genre-savvy screenwriter whose credits include "Shaun of the Dead," "Hot Fuzz" and "The World's End," all written with Edgar Wright, and "Paul," written with Nick Frost.

Jung co-created the TNT series "Dark Blue" and penned the 2003 movie "Confidence." He has also written for the TV series "Banshee" and "Big Love."

Set for release July 8, 2016, "Star Trek 3" will presumably continue the adventures of the crew of the starship Enterprise, including Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and his first officer, Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto).